Title : Application trial of essential oil extracted from citrus aurantium in food products (Minced meat)
Abstract:
Worldwide, two million adults and three million children die as a result of eating contaminated food. The contamination is usually caused by a harmful micro-organism or a chemical contaminant, resulting in food poisoning with serious consequences. In recent years, humans have turned to herbal remedies to solve a variety of problems, both food-related and health-related. Synthetic food preservatives are now restricted in many developed countries because of their irreversible effects on the body. Therefore, the present research concerns the valorization of Citrus aurantium from the region of Relizane, as a powerful food preservative, in the face of the problems encountered after the ingestion of significant amounts of chemical preservatives, having already marked by their irreversible effects on our body in the long term. The Citrus aurantium plant is widely used by the people of the Relizane region for therapeutic and culinary purposes. The extraction of essential oils from the fruit of this plant by hydro-distillation gave a yield of 0.09 ± 0.01%. The relative density at 20°C, the acid value, the ester value and the saponification value are in the order of 0.69 ±0.1, 44 ±3.0 mg KOH/g oil, 2.75 ± 0.5 mg KOH/g oil and 46.75 ± 5.1 mg KOH/g oil respectively. GC/MS analysis revealed the predominance of linalool (43 ± 1.5%) followed by limonene (19 ± 3%). In contrast, no alterations were detected in sample 3 in terms of odour, appearance and colour. A low number of total aerobic mesophilic flora (CFU/g) was recorded in the same sample, followed by sample 2 (CFU/g) and sample 1 (CFU/g). A total absence of Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus in samples 3 and 2. While sample 1 appeared spoiled due to the presence of a load of CFU/g of Salmonella. The essential oils extracted from Citrus aurantium appear to be a natural preservative that can be used and incorporated into many perishable food preparations.
